Mrs. Sang felt uncomfortable under the cold gaze of her fourth son. She explained in urgency, "I... I feel sorry for Qiaoqiao, but... Nanfeng is also my son. Both the palm and the back of the hand are flesh; how could I just stand by and do nothing?"

"No, you never truly felt sorry for Qiaoqiao. In your eyes, Qiaoqiao just lost some insignificant memories, while Sang Nanfeng has to face real consequences. Between the two, you think Nanfeng is pitiful."

"Have you ever considered that those memories not only have the disgusting ones of us but also her and Si Chenli? He is the one person in this world who has always unconditionally favored her, loved her, and doted on her from the beginning to the end."

Sang Siyang found it tragic. Some of the past issues he never understood had come to a point where he couldn’t change anything, yet he was cruelly forced to understand them, doomed to suffer forever.

Si Chenli’s love was hidden in the letters from their youth, even considering Qiaoqiao’s circumstances in the year they broke off their engagement. Yet, that money never ended up in Qiaoqiao’s hands, she was still receiving treatment.

During those years, the extra dividends everyone in Sang Family received was thanks to Qiaoqiao, but no one knew, including even Qiaoqiao’s portion which was entirely taken by Sang Zheng.

"I don’t feel that way; I just..." Mrs. Sang shook her head.

"Enough! Stop your crying and whining, what a disgrace. No one is allowed to interfere in Sang Nanfeng’s matters." Mr. Sang Senior wiped his eyes as he spoke, his tone leaving no room for argument.

"I’m going back to the hospital," said Sang Qingran, feeling uneasy after hearing his younger brother’s words.

Because initially, he had the same thought as their mother, thinking that Qiaoqiao wouldn’t be harmed, therefore, it didn’t matter.

"I’m also going back to the office," Sang Siyang had no interest in staying. The broken, fragmented home no longer had the person he most wanted to see; it only carried memories they preferred not to recall.

"I’m not leaving. I’ll stay at home," Sang Shen sat down on the sofa. He knew that in this home Qiaoqiao only cared about Grandfather now.

He couldn’t do anything else, but he could spend more time with Grandfather, taking good care of him.

"Suit yourself," Old Sang didn’t care who else was still at home.

-

Villa

Sang Qiao got off work early and went home, and also sent a message to Si Chenli, [I’m heading home first. When you’re done working, just come home, no need to pick me up.]

Sang Qiao sat thinking about how to tell Si Chenli that she had remembered everything. Leaning back on the sofa, she stared at the ceiling, lost in thought.

Suddenly, there was noise outside the door. She sat up straight and looked out, just hearing footsteps getting closer, then Si Chenli’s tall figure appeared at the door.

"You’re back," Sang Qiao turned to look at him.

"Yes, I saw what happened today," Si Chenli walked a few steps and sat on the adjacent sofa, his dark, unfathomable eyes seeming to draw people in.

"It was a misunderstanding. It was Ah He who asked me to deliver it because she fangirls over Chen Ling."

Sang Qiao met his gaze without hesitation, and promptly betrayed Ah He.

"It’s not that small matter, but the issue of Sang Nanfeng hypnotizing you," Si Chenli couldn’t help but chuckle lowly. Was he so petty in the heart of this young girl?

Was sending hemorrhoid cream to another man more important than his young girl being bullied?

What to weigh lightly or heavily, which issues to be concerned about, he understood them all.

"So you also know that I’ve remembered everything," Sang Qiao looked up into his eyes, not expecting that Si Chenli needed no coaxing at all.

"Yes, I knew the moment you sent me the message," he said softly.

"Why?" Sang Qiao slightly raised her eyebrows, obviously not expecting him to find out so soon—what could her text about heading home early reveal?

Si Chenli did not say a word but simply opened their chat page and handed her the records of their previous conversations where her tone was noticeably different. She had prefixed his name with "Ah Li."

"Ah, Li." Sang Qiao looked up at him, calling out each syllable.

"Hmm, Qiaoqiao, do you regret marrying me?" Si Chenli’s deep gaze fell on her face.

Sang Qiao let out a light laugh, "No regrets."

"I’ll have someone start planning the wedding," Si Chenli said, the corners of his lips tugging into a faint smile. Regret was too late now.

"No rush, let’s delay it a bit, and wait for Ah He." Sang Qiao was never particularly obsessed with the wedding ceremony—sooner or later didn’t matter much, as a marriage certificate was enough to prove their relationship.

"Okay, as you wish."

That evening, after dinner,

Sang Qiao profoundly realized the truth of "men’s mouths can deceive ghosts." What happened to the trivial matter he promised? Why bring it up in bed for questioning without asking?!

Even though Sang Qiao frequently exercised, her back and waist ached the next morning; enduring it daily was unbearable.

Facing the man who seemed full of guilt, she spoke with a cold tone, "For the next three days, I’m sleeping in my own room."

Leaving that remark behind, Sang Qiao pulled the blanket off, swung her long legs out of bed, and entered the bathroom, seemingly ruthless in her movements.

"Okay, I’ll get things sorted," Si Chenli, feeling guilty, got up and started to tidy up their clothes and bedsheets from the previous night.

Once Sang Qiao had breakfast and left the house, he went out and bought a small cart filled with various snacks and milk, stacking up to five hefty layers.

Rose Entertainment

At work, Sang Qiao entirely pushed aside the personal affairs, engrossed in Jiang Chaoyuan’s performance. The judges also announced the final rankings—he was second.

Although he didn’t debut as the center, she could tell that Jiang Chaoyuan had given his all. Chen Ling was indeed excellent in every aspect except height.

Sang Qiao updated Chen Ling’s profile and saw "RN Entertainment." She gave up—it makes sense, such a talented boy would already have a talent agency.

Well, it’s unethical to poach anyway.

The door to the office wasn’t closed; a middle-aged woman with a stack of documents walked right in, "Sister Qiao, here are today’s contracts."

"Okay, put them there. And, arrange a strong resource for Liang Mengyun."

"The new artist signed by the Lu Group?" the middle-aged woman asked incredulously, wondering if she had misheard.

"Under Lu Jiao’s company," Sang Qiao wasn’t aware of the name of the entertainment company Lu Jiao owned, nor had she ever paid attention to it; she never took Lu Jiao seriously.

"Yes." The middle-aged woman didn’t understand but always followed her boss’s orders.

"Do we need to send Liao Liao to watch over Jiang Chaoyuan? I hear he’s been behaving abnormally recently—suddenly obsessed with practicing singing and dancing, he didn’t sleep last night, and barely ate today, I don’t know what’s wrong..."

The middle-aged lady spoke somewhat euphemistically; she actually suspected either that Jiang Chaoyuan had gone mad or was ill.

It was frightening how he had suddenly become so ambitious after previously slacking off.

"Who has he seen these past days?" Sang Qiao paused, her fingertips lightly tapping on the table.

"Apparently, his mother visited him. I don’t know what they talked about. Someone saw his mother slap him, though the authenticity of the incident remains unverified; there’s no photo," the middle-aged lady reported truthfully.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com